The Great Hizzy!

Found this pic from Alexander Personnel (http://www.alexanderpersonnel.com): Thoughts on the lighting? Is this what you all are looking for?

Yeah, I saw them gearing up for it around 5:00 in the evening.

The funny part is that downtown Miami only has a couple of buildings (and most notably the BOA Tower) lit at night. So in this, I think it shows that you can do a quality job of lighting the skyline without going overboard. I really think that as far as Houston lighting goes, you have a great opportunity with the following towers: BOA Enron II (can't think of its new name right now) The former Chevron-Texaco Tower Fulbright Tower Houston Center 5 I think proper lighting on these buildings--that is, without going overboard with gaudy neon outlines or what have you--would give the nightskyline a better overall shape. I don't think the lighting as it is now is bad but it doesn't make quite the impact because the wrong towers are pretty dark, and the current lighting is difficult to consume from a distance.

Wow, good catch, TB. It seems the architecture would blend in with the existing area. I was concerned that they would try to forge yet another brick/stucco collaboration in there, like they tend to do with so many intown projects. I can't really say if I like the design as it stands now, as it's really just a drawing and a lot of the finite design detail is hard to digest but at the very least it looks like a break from the other mixed-used projects that are on the table.

The simple solution would've been to take Mercer I and Mercer II and put them back to back. This way, the facades of both buildings would be facing outward, hiding the hideousness of its rear. As it stands, the two buildings will essentially look like a single building that was dissected, as if a lesson to designers on how not to do anything half-a**ed.

Well, since Wheeler Station is the proposed terminal connection for the Westpark-Uptown extension, I tend to doubt that anything major will go up there before that new segment is built. At that point, it probably would make an excellent site for a major mixed-use development. First things first, though: the Camden development on the superblock needs to get started so that the idea of implementing new residential and retail along the rail line will gain even more steam.

Unfortunately, I keep associating the ZaZa name with Zsa Zsa Gabor, and I'm not sure that's a good thing.

I knew something didn't seem to add up about the LTAWACS here compared to the one we see at SSP and SSC. Funny how these things happen. Good to have the original posting again.

'Coog is right. Riverside Terrace, University Oaks and MacGregor Estates are nearby--to the west and northwest. Plenty of $$$ in those neighborhoods. I also agree that the park needs better connection to the bayou.

But then what do you say to the significant number of people who feel that lighting such as what you see on the Bank of America building in Dallas is tacky? I could be wrong, but I think this is why you don't see many corporate logos on Houston's buildings anymore. Some people really find aggressive lighting tacky. So who's right? Personally, I like the lighting on Atlanta's downtown skyscrapers. Not too garish, IMO.

Speaking of the old Days Inn, I still see people with hard hats going in and out, pretty much every day save for weekends. I have no clue what they could be doing, though, because they never seem to be doing any work. Could these be homeless people who are using the hard hats as a ruse to sneak in and out of the building? If so, pretty clever.

Same explanation applies to TV markets.

The only thing I can say to this is that Midtown Houston (the southern central part of it) is in a period of transition and I can understand the frustration of seeing its transformation take place at such a slower pace. A point of fact is that Midtown is competing with several other areas in terms of inner city renewal: 1) The West End. Take a ride down Washington Avenue and every day an old structure is being torn down in place of new condos, new apartments or some new type of commercial entity (yes, I know, many of 'em are of the strip variety but work with me). 2) The Museum District: older, stately homes are being renovated into braggadocious single family units or townhomes, with new structures being built around them. 3) The eastern half of Midtown from roughly San Jacinto to US 59/SH 288. More townhomes. A lot more. Tons more, in fact. 4) Uptown. Someone made a comment about Uptown Dallas in relationship to Midtown but much of the condo/apartment growth in that area is similar to our own Uptown. Whereas swanky condos such as the Mondrian are sprouting up, we have the Redstone and others going up in Uptown (or Memorial Bend or what have you). 5) East of downtown. Again, this area is quietly seeing new construction activity. Dozens of new townhomes are being built with dozens more on the way within the next couple of months. This area could easily see between one and two thousand new units over the next few years. So all of this plays a factor in the rate of Midtown's growth. I think the biggest factor in Midtown is that a good number of the older office/commercial units are empty now and the trick is getting quality businesses, whether they be retail or what have you, to come in and reoccupy them. Getting rid of that particular blight would instantly improve the area's overall look and feel. But, hey, what do I know, maybe Houston does suck and I'm just not accepting it

The DeGeorge http://www.usvetsinc.org/images/loc_photos/usvets_location_degeorge.jpg

More to the point, did I miss this entirely? Was this talked about anywhere else and I simply missed it. http://www.internest.com/mcvaughcustomhome...mhomes12245.aspMcVaugh Homes

Definitely lofts. Perfect for the area. Not pretentious, not ritzy but very urban and hip, with quick access to quality nightlife. I've been wondering if and when someone would step up and take advantage of its location.

Denver also had a six year head start on downtown redevelopment. It started with Coors Field in 1994. Same with Baltimore.

LOL! I didn't even notice the Dart.

We really need to talk more about the urban projects going up on the eastern end of DT/warehouse district. A trip down Dowling will reveal a handful of new buildings with more on the way. I like the way the building's laid out. Is it a "from-the-ground-up" deal or a rehab?

I tend to agree with this. It would also be nice if there was a way to intice commercial entities to take a chance on poorer neighborhoods. One of the biggest problems for lower income communities is that a.) there aren't much in the way of convenient shopping options in their neighborhoods and b.) this lack of retail/commerce affects the overall property values in the neighborhood, thereby lowering the amount of taxes collected in that neighborhood, which affects a municipalities ability to provide rudimentary services, such as street lighting and so forth. On the flipside, isolated areas of lower income residents would more restrict that areas ability to receive upgraded city services as opposed to if they were integrated into a more prosperous taxing zone.

ESPN Zone is located in Atlanta. Enough said.

The city also did a piss poor job of getting Citgo to relocate here. <Insert rim shot>

I hope they've touched up the sections near the intersections of the N-S streets. I drove along the repaved section from San Jac to Bagby and the road looks unfinished, with some pretty significant dips/potholes near the intersections of the N-S streets. Looked pretty ragtag and I can't imagine the city would pay for such an unfinished job.

No. The Texaco Building is a much older building sitting on a block bounded by Fannin, San Jacinto, Capitol and Rusk. It's the block across from the new Club Quarters.

@ 2112 I was also thinking that, hey, look... even if the current quest for the Shamrock ends with nothing being built, such a project as the one planned for Main @ Polk could still be a catalyst for another type of residential project at that location. If it's a matter of the development group, then I don't think there's much to worry about longterm, as people have already (allegedly) shown enough interest in living at the location. And even if it is a problem with attracting interest from buyers, I think having a project like the mixed-use property down the rail line would give that lot more visibility to a broader range of interested people.